CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield school board voted to disapprove Senate Bill 1127, which would shut down Pennsylvania school boards and restrict their voting following a primary or municipal election between Oct. 1 of each odd-numbered year and the organizational meeting required to be held in December of such year, at Monday night’s regular meeting.
“It wouldn’t allow any votes over a two-month time period. It’s not like we don’t do anything over those two months. Last year at that time, we were voting to temporarily close a school and hiring a superintendent,” said board President Dave Glass. “This is just crazy. It’s like they think we’re lame duck boards just taking action.”
Because the legislation will be considered by the House of Representatives today, Superintendent Dr. Thomas B. Otto addressed correspondence to state lawmakers Monday prior to the board meeting. He advised his board would be opposing the legislation for the following reasons:
- The bill unduly limits the authority of the school board members, and as elected officials, school board members are chosen by their constituents to act in the best interest of the school district that they represent while in office. The bill not only ties the hands of those school directors who were re-elected, but also prevents all other board members who weren’t up for re-election in the primary from taking action.
- The bill creates a governing vacuum in school districts from October to early December. Without authority to conduct substantive business within the timeframe, the bill strips school boards of their role to guide and govern the districts they were elected to serve.
- The bill fails to adequately define administrative or ministerial legislation and remains ambiguous in terms of what actions will be considered administrative or ministerial, putting school boards in jeopardy of penalties unnecessarily.
- The bill prohibits school boards from conducting necessary and required business, including such things as:
- entering into any contract over $100, including contracts for building repairs, purchasing of food and supplies, technology needs, etc.
- filling any kind of staff vacancy ranging from superintendent, principal, teacher, special education aide, cafeteria employee, custodian and more.
- complying with statutory and regulatory requirements that call for board action in a timely manner. For example, if a student brings a weapon to school, a school board is required to conduct an expulsion hearing within 15 days and to make a decision as to the appropriate discipline.
- The bill undermines an important principle of an elected office and erodes the important principal that elected officials continue to have all powers and responsibilities so long as they’re in office. The Clearfield board is unaware of any other provision in the school code, or any such provision in any municipal, state or federal law that restricts an elected official’s voting rights while still in office based on a primary election result.
“Many school districts already do not have enough qualified citizens who choose to run for election as a school director. Making this thankless, unpaid and time consuming commitment more difficult will turn away potential candidates,” Otto wrote.
“This legislation serves no purpose and is of no benefit to the constituents – and most important – the students of the Clearfield Area School District or any other school district in the Commonwealth. The intention of this legislation is defective from its very inception.”